Wafer-transferring pod capable of monitoring processing environment

ABSTRACT

A wafer-transferring pod capable of monitoring process environment comprises a body and a sampling mechanism positioned on a top surface, a back surface or one of two side surfaces of the body for adsorbing contamination. The sampling mechanism comprises an inner chamber filled with adsorbent such as glass wool and a plurality of openings positioned on sidewalls of the inner chamber. In addition, the sampling mechanism may comprise a movable door and an opening for a user to absorb the air from the body without opening a front cover of the wafer-transferring pod. Further, the sampling mechanism may comprise an inner member positioned on the body and an outer member buckled into the inner member, wherein the inner member and the outer member have an opening through which the user can absorb the air in the body without opening the front cover of the wafer-transferring pod.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

(A) Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a wafer-transferring pod capable ofmonitoring the processing environment, and more particularly, to awafer-transferring pod capable of monitoring the processing environmentas a wafer is experiencing the processing.

(B) Description of the Related Art

The fabrication of an integrated circuit device on a wafer needs aplurality of processing apparatuses having a reaction chamber, and thewafer is transferred between these processing apparatuses by awafer-transferring system. Presently, integrated circuit manufacturingcompanies locate the wafer in a wafer-transferring pod, and use a robotto move the wafer from the pod to the reaction chamber where thereaction process actually occurs. Consequently, it only needs to controlthe grade of clarity in a smaller internal space of the pod, rather thana larger space of the entire clean room, which can dramatically lowerthe cost on controlling the grade of clarity. The internal space of thepod possesses a higher grade of clarity; however, opening or closing thepod on transferring the wafer between the pod and the processingapparatus is likely to introduce some contaminations from the clean roomhaving a lower grade of clarity into the pod having a higher grade ofclarity and the reaction chamber of the processing apparatus, which isone of the pollution sources of the reaction chamber and the wafer inthe pod.

To analyze the pollution source, the prior art uses a sampling accessorycapable of sucking air from some dubious areas such as the reactionchamber of the processing apparatus, the internal space of the pod or atransferring interface between the processing apparatus and the pod. Anadsorbent in the sampling accessory is then used in some chemicalanalysis procedures to characterize the composition of the sampled airso as to infer the pollution source based on the outcome of the chemicalanalysis. Particularly, the prior art needs to open a front cover of thepod before using the sampling accessory to suck air from the internalspace of the pod, but opening the front cover of the pod itselfgenerates some contaminations. In addition, using the sampling accessoryto suck air in the open pod also pollutes the internal space of the pod.Consequently, there are several pollution sources, and it is quitedifficult to discover the actual one.

Further, what the prior art does is a post-sampling, i.e., the prior artperforms the sampling from the processing environment after thepollution occurs, and then infers reversely the generation mechanism ofthe pollution based on the result of the chemical analysis. Since theenvironment in which post-sampling is performed may be different fromthat in which the pollution actually occurs, the prior art analysistechnique itself possesses a certain inaccuracy.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The primary objective of the present invention is to provide awafer-transferring pod, which is capable of monitoring the processenvironment as a wafer is experiencing the fabrication process andpreventing the wafer from being polluted by inserting a samplingaccessory into the wafer-transferring pod or by opening thewafer-transferring pod.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned objective and avoid the problemsof the prior art, one embodiment of the present invention discloses awafer-transferring pod that comprises a body capable of receiving aplurality of wafers and a sampling mechanism positioned on the body. Thesampling mechanism can be positioned on a top surface, a back surface orone of two side surfaces of the body for adsorbing contaminations. Oneembodiment of the sampling mechanism comprises an inner chamber filledwith adsorbent such as glass wool and a plurality of openings positionedon the sidewalls of the inner chamber. In another embodiment, thesampling mechanism may comprise a movable door and an opening positionedon the body for a user to absorb air from the body via the openingwithout opening a front cover of the wafer-transferring pod. In afurther embodiment, the sampling mechanism may comprise an inner memberpositioned on the body and a outer member buckled into the inner member,wherein the inner member and the outer member have an opening throughwhich the user can absorb the air from the body without opening thefront cover of the wafer-transferring pod.

To do sampling, the prior art needs to perform actions such as openingthe front cover of the wafer-transferring pod or inserting the samplingaccessory into the wafer-transferring pod; however, these actionsgenerate contaminations to cause pollution. On the contrary, the presentinvention disposes a sampling mechanism on the wafer-transferring pod,and the sampling of air in the wafer-transferring pod is performed viathe sampling mechanism without inserting a sampling accessory into thewafer-transferring pod or opening the front cover of thewafer-transferring pod. Consequently, the present invention can preventthe wafer in the wafer-transferring pod from being polluted by insertinga sampling accessory into the wafer-transferring pod or opening thefront cover of the wafer-transferring pod. In addition, the presentinvention allows the performing of the sampling during the fabricationprocess, i.e., achieves an on-line sampling instead of thepost-sampling.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The objectives and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent upon reading the following description and upon reference tothe accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a wafer-transferring pod according to one embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a wafer-transferring pod according to anotherembodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 illustrate a wafer-transferring pod according toanother embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 illustrates a wafer-transferring pod 10 according to oneembodiment of the present invention. The wafer-transferring pod 10comprises a body 20 capable of receiving a plurality of wafers 12 and asampling mechanism 30 positioned on the body 20. The sampling mechanism30 can be positioned on a back surface 24, a bottom surface 26, a topsurface 28 or one of two side surfaces 32A, 32B of the body 20 foradsorbing contaminations, and the wafer 12 is transferred into and outof the wafer-transferring pod 10 through an opening sealed up by a frontcover 22. The sampling mechanism 30 comprises an inner chamber 42positioned below the top surface 28, an adsorbent 44 such as glass woolin the inner chamber 42 and a top cover 48. There are several openings46 positioned on the sidewalls of the inner chamber 42, and pollutionsin air can be adsorbed by the adsorbent 44 in the inner chamber 42 asair flows though the sampling mechanism 30 via these opening 46.

When the wafer 12 in the wafer-transferring pod 10 is transferred into areaction chamber to experience a semiconductor fabrication process suchas the deposition process, the etching process or the lithographicprocess, the adsorbent 44 can adsorb contaminations from air in theinterior of the wafer-transferring pod 10 as the wafer 12 is transferredfrom the reaction chamber back to the wafer-transferring pod 10, i.e.,sampling in an on-line manner. Particularly, the contaminations in thewafer-transferring pod 10 are discharged from the wafer 12 into air inthe interior of the wafer-transferring pod 10 as the wafer 12 istransferred back to the wafer-transferring pod 10 after the fabricationprocess is completed in the reaction chamber. Subsequently, one can openthe top cover 48 of the sampling mechanism 40 and take out the adsorbent44 from the inner chamber 42 to identify the contamination by a certainchemical analysis technique.

FIG. 2 illustrates a wafer-transferring pod 60 having a samplingmechanism 30′ according to another embodiment of the present invention.The sampling mechanism 30′ of the wafer-transferring pod 60 comprises aguiding frame 62 positioned on the back surface 24, a movable door 64and an opening 66. Preferably, the guiding frame 62 and the movable door64 are made of polyetherimide to avoid the generation of thecontamination on opening or closing the movable door 64. Pulling up themovable door 64 exposes the opening 66 on the back surface 24, and thesize of the opening 66 is substantially the same as that of a samplinghead 56 of a sampling accessory 54. During the fabrication process, themovable door 64 is pulled down to shadow the opening 66 so as to preventcommunication of air between the exterior and the interior of thewafer-transferring pod 10 via the opening 66. To do sampling, themovable door 64 is pulled up and the sampling head 56 engages with theopening 66 to suck air from the interior of the wafer-transferring pod10.

FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 illustrate a wafer-transferring pod 80 according toanother embodiment of the present invention. The wafer-transferring pod80 comprises a sampling mechanism 70 including an inner member 72positioned on the top surface 28 of the body 20 and an outer member 74buckled into the inner member 72, wherein the inner member 72 have anopening 73 and the outer member 74 have an opening 75 communicating theinterior of the wafer-transferring pod 10 with the external environment.During the fabrication process, a plug 78 is used to seal up the opening75. To do sampling, the plug 78 is removed and the sampling head 56engages with the opening 75 to suck air from the interior of thewafer-transferring pod 10 without opening the front cover 22 of thewafer-transferring pod 10. Preferably, the sample mechanism 70 mayfurther comprise an adsorbent sheet 76 made of glass wool positionedbetween the inner member 72 and the outer member 74 to adsorbcontaminations from the interior of the wafer-transferring pod 10.

To do sampling, the prior art needs to perform actions such as openingthe front cover of the wafer-transferring pod or inserting the samplingaccessory into the wafer-transferring pod; however, these actionsgenerate contaminations to cause pollution. On the contrary, the presentinvention disposes a sampling mechanism on the wafer-transferring pod,and the sampling of air in the wafer-transferring pod is performed viathe sampling mechanism without inserting a sampling accessory into thewafer-transferring pod or opening the front cover of thewafer-transferring pod. Consequently, the present invention can preventthe wafer in the wafer-transferring pod from being polluted by insertinga sampling accessory into the wafer-transferring pod or opening thefront cover of the wafer-transferring pod. In addition, the presentinvention allows the performing of the sampling during the fabricationprocess, i.e., achieves an on-line sampling instead of thepost-sampling.

The above-described embodiments of the present invention are intended tobe illustrative only. Numerous alternative embodiments may be devised bythose skilled in the art without departing from the scope of thefollowing claims.

1. A wafer-transferring pod, comprising: a body configured to receive aplurality of wafers; and a sampling mechanism positioned on the body foradsorbing contaminations from an interior of the body.
 2. Thewafer-transferring pod of claim 1, wherein the body has a back surface,and the sampling mechanism is positioned on the back surface.
 3. Thewafer-transferring pod of claim 1, wherein the body has two sidesurfaces, and the sampling mechanism is positioned on one of the twoside surfaces.
 4. The wafer-transferring pod of claim 1, wherein thebody has a top surface, and the sampling mechanism is positioned on thetop surface.
 5. The wafer-transferring pod of claim 1, wherein thesampling mechanism includes a chamber having adsorbents therein.
 6. Thewafer-transferring pod of claim 5, wherein the adsorbents include glasswool.
 7. The wafer-transferring pod of claim 5, wherein the chamberincludes a plurality of openings, and the interior of the bodycommunicates with that of the chamber via the openings.
 8. Awafer-transferring pod, comprising: a body configured to receive aplurality of wafers; and a sampling mechanism positioned on the body fora user to adsorb air from an interior of the body.
 9. Thewafer-transferring pod of claim 8, wherein the body has a back surface,and the sampling mechanism is positioned on the back surface.
 10. Thewafer-transferring pod of claim 8, wherein the body has two sidesurfaces, and the sampling mechanism is positioned on one of the twoside surfaces.
 11. The wafer-transferring pod of claim 8, wherein thebody has a top surface, and the sampling mechanism is positioned on thetop surface.
 12. The wafer-transferring pod of claim 8, wherein thesampling mechanism includes a movable door.
 13. The wafer-transferringpod of claim 12, wherein the movable door is made of polyetherimide. 14.The wafer-transferring pod of claim 8, wherein the sampling mechanism isan opening.
 15. The wafer-transferring pod of claim 8, wherein thesampling mechanism includes: an inner member positioned on the body; andan outer member configured to engage with the inner member; wherein theinner member and the outer member have an opening through which the usercan absorb the air from the body.
 16. The wafer-transferring pod ofclaim 15, wherein the sampling mechanism further includes adsorbentsheet positioned between the inner member and the outer member.
 17. Thewafer-transferring pod of claim 16, wherein the adsorbent sheet is madeof glass wool.
 18. The wafer-transferring pod of claim 15, wherein thesampling mechanism further includes a plug for sealing up the opening.